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Monaco
FP317h 42m
Lewis Hamilton set the pace during Friday's second practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, leading the way from Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
P1) Lewis Hamilton - 1:13.026 P2) Charles Leclerc: +0.111 P3) Max Verstappen: +0.168 P4) George Russell: +0.379 P5) Kimi Antonelli: +0.503 P6) Isack Hadjar: +1.061 P7) Oscar Piastri: +1.062 P8) Nico Hulkenberg: +1.068 P9) Gabriel Bortoleto: +1.333 P10) Oliver Bearman: +1.430 P11) Pierre Gasly: +1.471 P12) Carlos Sainz Jnr: +1.486 P13) Alexander Albon: +1.574 P14) Arvid Lindblad: +1.722 P15) Franco Colapinto: +1.732 P16) Liam Lawson: +1.759 P17) Esteban Ocon: +1.819 P18) Sergio Perez: +2.090 P19) Lando Norris: +2.248 P20) Fernando Alonso: +2.268 P21) Valtteri Bottas: +2.733 P22) Lance Stroll: +3.148
Liam Lawson will not be penalised for passing a red light at the end of Monaco GP first practice after the stewards accepted “mitigating circumstances” linked to confusion over the pit-exit countdown clock. The Racing Bulls driver joined the track as the pit-exit light turned red following the late restart, but the stewards noted the countdown clock “is not official”, is not synchronised with the light, and Lawson had “less than a second to react”, concluding: “no penalty will be imposed.”
Flavio Briatore says Mercedes’ negotiations to take over Otro Capital’s shareholding in the Alpine Formula 1 team collapsed because Otro’s asking price was too high. Briatore said: "It's very easy, the price was too high. Toto was very fair. I don't think [the] Otro people are fair. Toto in all the negotiations was very fair."
Aston Martin Formula 1 ambassador Pedro de la Rosa said he does not yet know whether Fernando Alonso’s Monaco Grand Prix FP1 crash was triggered by the “random downshifts” Alonso has complained about, but admitted the AMR26 is still too difficult to drive. De la Rosa said: "We're working very hard, but definitely looking at what happened to Fernando, I don't know if it was braking, locking or downshifting first. I don't care about that. The car is still too difficult to drive, so we still have to work a lot more."
Charles Leclerc has been given a formal warning by the Monaco Grand Prix stewards for impeding Liam Lawson in FP1. The stewards said the incident was caused by a misunderstanding over Ferrari’s radio message about the gaps to Oliver Bearman and Lawson, concluding: “This misunderstanding was ultimately responsible for the unnecessary impeding.” Ferrari told the stewards it would “revise its communication protocols to minimise the future risk of misunderstandings”.
Sergio Perez says his return to Formula 1 with Cadillac has helped erase the self-doubt he felt during his final months at Red Bull, insisting he has proved to himself he is still “one of the best” drivers. Perez said: "Obviously, when you look at my last six months at Red Bull, you wouldn't think that I'm one of the best out there. But when you understand the circumstances I was in at that point, when you see the level of performance that I'm putting in with my team, you realise that I'm one of the best out there. At the end of the day, you require the right circumstances to be able to show your talent."
Helmut Marko says “the only hope” of stopping Mercedes dominating the season is for George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli to “tear each other apart”, after the pair won all five races so far. Marko said: "Although I find it very refreshing how the young Antonelli lets the car fly. But Russell is the experienced one, who will also strike back. That they tear each other apart in the process is the only hope. Otherwise Mercedes is gone."
Carlos Sainz says his priority is to stay with Williams and make its long-term project work, even though delays to the team’s 2026 car have contributed to a slower start to the season than expected. Sainz said: "I know I obviously need to take a decision this year about my future but at the same time, I made it very clear to Williams and to my management team that my priority is to make this project work. When I did the commitment a couple of years ago to come here, it was with the commitment of trying to make this work and I wish we can do that."
Lewis Hamilton says his first visit to Monaco as a 13-year-old kart racer was an “eye-opening” experience that showed him what was possible and sparked his dream of living in the Principality. Hamilton said: "He invited me to go to his home, so I remember getting on his dad's plane, his jet at the time, and I was like, 'Crap, I didn't even know they had private jets.' It was the most unbelievable, eye-opening experience. We landed, and his dad had a helicopter standing next to it, and I was thinking, 'this is like James Bond stuff!' I remember seeing the view, and at 13 I thought, 'I've never seen anything like this'. And that became my dream: one day I'm going to live in a place like this."
Charles Leclerc says he had offers from rival teams before signing his new multi-year Ferrari contract extension, but that staying with the Scuderia was “always the choice”. Leclerc said: "There were, yes. No, I'm not going to say. They can say it if they want. But yeah, for me, Ferrari was always the choice."
Nico Hulkenberg says Audi have “a lot of room for improvement” in key areas as the manufacturer’s inaugural Formula 1 season continues. Hulkenberg said: "A lot of things to work on, improve on, power, drivability. So, you know, in every aspect, we have a lot of room for improvement."
George Russell says the Monaco Grand Prix will be “more on the limit” this year because Formula 1’s 2026 regulation change has produced lighter, more nimble cars that can be pushed harder on street circuits. Russell said: "Last year's cars were so big, they were so heavy, and they were so stiff as well that every single bump you'd feel and it could step the rear end out of the corner, you could lock up easier and veer off into the wall. Whereas this feels more like a race car, it is more intuitive to drive... when you come to these challenging street tracks, I think actually you'll be able to push the cars more to the limit, and that's more enjoyable."
Haas team-mates Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon traded complaints about traffic in Monaco practice, with Bearman calling Ocon an “idiot” on the radio after being overtaken at the final corner. Ocon had earlier said Bearman had compromised him twice, complaining: “He doesn’t have to fuck my laps twice as well,” before Bearman said: “What an idiot, man… That was so stupid from Esteban.” They finished 16th and 17th, Bearman 0.041s quicker.
Mercedes has been fined €100 after George Russell was caught marginally exceeding the pit-lane speed limit during first practice for the Monaco Grand Prix. The FIA said Russell breached the 60km/h limit by 0.3km/h, which is an offence under Article B1.6.3a of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.
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